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The surname Gaspar was first found in Warwickshire where Walter Gaispor was listed in the Pipe Rolls in 1203. A few years later, ffulco Gayspore was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for London in 1319 and over one hundred years later, Walter Gaispore was listed in the Assize Rolls for London in 1442. The name literally means "one who wore showy spurs" from the Old French "gai," and the Old English word "spura." 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gaspar research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1394, 1510, 1600, 1620, 1641, 1642 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Gaspar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Gaspar, Gaspard, Gaspere, Gaspell, Gaspare and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Jan Baptist Gaspers (Jaspers) (1620?-1691), English portrait-painter, a native of Antwerp, and in 1641-1642 was admitted a member of the guild of St...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gaspar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Gaspar is the 5,994th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Gaspar is ranked the 2,990th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 3
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Gaspar name or one of its variants:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: